Pujols, McGwire, LaRussa Redefine “Mistake”

This is stupid. It happened and there’s nothing McGwire can do to get you guys off your high horses.

wow–we’re blown away by your argument.

Really El? This coming from a person whose name means “the”?

It’s starting to become apparent that TLR has fashioned his whole career out of surrounding himself with players and personnel that serve as a buffer to his “ignorance”. It seems like there is not much of a legacy there after all. Neither one of them have made any kind of substantial statement in all the years since this has happened, and Pujols et al seem to only be drinking the Kool-aid.

I agree that McGwire should have just admitted that he cheated and the steroids helped him hit more homers. Obviously La Russa is backing him because he’s loyal to a fault and he just hired him to be the hitting coach. But I also understand the other side of this controversy too. What more do the admitted steroid users have to do to get the sanctimonious fans and media to move on? Should we string them all up by their testicles in public? And why do some athletes almost get a free pass when they admit to using, but others don’t? I don’t remember seeing any of this outrage when known steroid users like Pettite and Rodriguez were playing in the World Series this year. In fact, nobody even mentioned it.

Bottom line for me is that as long as there is billions of dollars at stake and the potential to make a piece of that money, you will have numerous athletes who will take something to get an edge over the competition. It’s just the way it is. Does that make it okay that these guys cheated? Of course not, but steroids is just the latest in a long line of illegal drugs that athletes will take to give them an edge. So if any of you folks honestly believe that this will bring an end to this kind of controversy, prepare to be disappointed.

Oh, and for the record, I’m a Cardinals fan and I’m biased. The blogger who wrote this is a diehard Cubs fan and his hatred for the Cardinal organization is beyond reasonable.

McGwire’s case is much different than Pettitte or even A-Rod. But let’s for example talk about the right way to do it: Jason Giambi. He admitted it, said it was wrong and no one held it against him anymore. o one wanted to “string him up by his testicles” because he didn’t try to continue the lie.

It’s guys like McGwire, Bonds and Clemens that people can’t stand– trying to qualify their usage or admitting it but claiming conditions on it. McGwire has admitted it was wrong to do it but claims it was a “mistake” and that he only did them to stay healthy, which is the biggest joke of all. I also think he did this to get back into the game. If he wasn’t the new hitting coach he wouldn’t have come clean–he’d have kept hiding from the limelight.

My being a Cubs fan has nothing to do with this. Look at how much I rip on Sosa and he hasn’t even admitted it yet.

But just wait until Pujols gets caught. Then you’ll really think I hate the Cardinals.

Actually, Pettitte and A-Rod had just as many holes in their explanations as well. The difference is that they haven’t broken any big baseball records yet in their careers. It’s easy for the sanctimonious fans to forgive a player when he hasn’t set any pristine records while using steroids.

BTW, keep holding your breath waiting and hoping for Pujols to get busted for steroids.
It won’t happen.

First of all, Bonds or Clemens have never admitted to using steroids. So you comparing those two to McGwire makes absolutely no sense. But don’t let that stop you from your sanctimonious ranting. If only every athlete was as pure as you. LOL

IMO, the biggest reason so many fans are in an uproar about McGwire is because he was the first to break the single season HR record and therefore he tarnished the record books by doing it on PED’s. I understand that reasoning, but it doesn’t make him an evil person who deserves to be publicly persecuted for the rest of his life. After all, sports is entertainment and nothing more. Have some perspective.

One more thing. I know you’ll probably never do this, BUT I’ll bet you $100 right now that Pujols will never be outed for using PED’s during his career. He’s already been tested numerous times in the past and his playing weight certainly hasn’t changed much since his rookie year. Also, he’s never hit more than 49 HR’s in a season. I’m confused why certain people continue to think he’s taking something illegal. Does being one of the best players in your sport automatically make you a PED user? I guess Tim Lincecum must be a steroids user too.

Come on, Matt, put your money where your mouth is.

Dude– It all has to do with this: he is a LIAR. He admitted it…but he didn’t admit it. Period. He says he did it, but only for health reasons. Bob Ley called him on that in his interview. And no one said he was evil.

People are “in an uproar” because he was a crying, sniveling little wuss that wouldn’t tell the truth to our congress and continues to deny he took them to increase his productivity. He’s the one that needs perspective. Just say why you did it and be done already.

As for Pujols, look at his pic with the Memphis Redbirds then look at him now. That’s why people are suspicious. No one is suspicious of Tim Lincecum…because he weighs 160 pounds. Bad example for your point, but with your head so far up the rear of all things STL, it’s understandable.

You know, for someone who is religious, you sure do a lot of judging other people that you don’t even know. And doesn’t religion teach you to forgive others? Do you treat your children and your wife the same way? Do you always hold them accountable for mistakes they made years ago?

I’ve looked at most pictures of Pujols over the years. He’s not much bigger now than when he was 20 years old. But if you really believe he’s cheating, then let’s make a bet on it.

How do you feel about your Cubs starting catcher? You never wrote about Soto possibly doing steroids even though his home run numbers spiked exponentially over the past few years. Now he comes to spring training weighing 40 lbs. less than last season. Hypocritical much?

Sigh. We’ve been over this before. Judging someone’s actions is not the same as judging the person. I’m sure McGwire is a very nice guy. All accounts I’ve read indicate that. But he lied to congress and it’s pretty obvious he is still lying.

Your throwing Soto into the conversation is a strawman. Not sure what that has to do with McGwire.

And are you sure you want to bring family life into this?

Double sigh. A person is defined by his actions, Matt. You can’t judge someones actions and then say you aren’t judging the man.

The only reason I brought family into this discussion is to show how some folks judge people they don’t know and never forgive them, yet when their family members do something similar, they forgive them and move on. I don’t think you can have it both ways.

Here’s my final comment on this whole McGwire steroids issue. And I say this as someone who never really cared about the HR records he broke with the Cardinals because I knew full well that he was probably taking stuff to make himself stronger. I think Mark honestly believes that the steroids didn’t help him hit HR’s. He’s convinced himself that his skill as a baseball player and his mental maturity at that time in his career are the reasons that he hit all those home runs. And I think that’s the reason why he’s so adamant about saying they only helped him stay healthy. Obviously he’s not thinking clearly about it and it isn’t helping his case, but why else would he continue to say that they didn’t help him? I’m sure he realizes by now that he won’t be getting into the HOF, so what other reason would there be for him to lie? The mind is a powerful thing and many times people can convince themselves of some pretty crazy things.

[...] Albert Pujols, Mark McGwire and Tony LaRussa don’t know what a mistake is. [zoner sports] [...]

Hey…has anyone seen Babe Ruth’s pictures at the beginning of his career compared to when he started hitting homeruns?…Definitely using the roids. And since my son was born he’s gained so much weight…I admit..I must have slipped him some roids too….and as for Pujols its a given..No way a human being could be good at baseball or that big..he’s juiceing